News for Immediate Release
June 30, 2008
Contact:
Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, kmckalip@trcp.org
TRCP and NAGP Request Interior Action to Avert Sage Grouse Listing
Groups seek adoption of measures to protect sage grouse from adverse impacts
of energy development on federal public lands
WASHINGTON — The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and North American Grouse Partnership today announced that they have formally requested that the Department of the Interior undertake landscape conservation measures for sage grouse habitats on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Sage grouse currently are being considered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The TRCP and NAGP want the BLM to better manage sage grouse during energy development on federal public lands to avert an endangered listing of the popular upland game bird.
The TRCP and NAGP "petition for rulemaking" requests that the secretary of the Interior commit the BLM to utilize the best available information on the impacts of oil and gas development on sage grouse and alter agency management of sage grouse populations in areas currently being developed or planned for development. The groups propose an immediate evaluation of existing protections and management for the bird, an assessment of risks, and interim protections pending development of a better strategy.
"A pile of current, peer-reviewed science is being ignored, and it's costing us our grouse," said Dr. Rollin Sparrowe of Wyoming, a TRCP board member and past president of The Wildlife Society with more than 40 years' experience using science in wildlife management.
Sage grouse populations historically encompassed vast expanses of the Rocky Mountain West; however, the species' abundance and distribution have declined precipitously. Energy development can have wide-ranging impacts on habitat use and survival of numerous game species, including sage grouse. Recent research on sage grouse has identified population declines with energy development activities. In particular, activity too close to sage grouse leks, or breeding sites, can result in permanent displacement.
"Sportsmen have an enormous stake in maintaining productive sage grouse populations, and an overwhelming body of scientific evidence demonstrates that measures currently employed by the BLM to manage our sage grouse populations during energy development are inadequate," said TRCP Energy Initiative Manager and former federal biologist Steve Belinda.
"We are concerned that the rapid pace of public land energy development in important habitats prevents the agency from managing our valuable fish and wildlife resources as required by federal law," Belinda continued. "The BLM must do more to manage sage grouse in places where the bird is not already lost."
If sage grouse are listed under Endangered Species Act, hunters would be first of many stakeholders to experience negative impacts due to the possible elimination or restriction of hunting opportunities. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been ordered by the U.S. District Court in Idaho to revisit a 2005 decision that determined the bird was "not warranted" for protection. In its ruling, the court specifically focused on a lack of sufficient information about grouse management efforts by the BLM.
"If adopted, the rules we have proposed will go a long way toward conserving sage grouse and helping ensure that the future of sage grouse on public lands is secure — a factor that significantly influences the Service's decision to list a species," said Michael Hutchins, executive director/CEO of The Wildlife Society.
"By adopting the proposed recommendations, the BLM can play a unique role in sustaining populations of this iconic upland game bird," said Ralph Rogers, executive director of the NAGP. "Half of the remaining sage brush habitat in this country lies on BLM-managed lands. The agency's ability to contribute — or fail to contribute — to sage grouse conservation is unprecedented and unparalleled."
"The TRCP supports responsible energy development coupled with determined efforts to sustain fish and wildlife resources throughout the course of development activities," said TRCP President and CEO George Cooper. "Without sound planning, leasing and development of energy resources can have devastating impacts on sage grouse and the rich hunting opportunities they afford.
"Ultimately, we are asking the secretary to act now to conserve this bird under his management authority — before he has to resort to the Endangered Species Act," Cooper concluded. "It can be done. And it must be done now, before it is too late."
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